With a state-imposed Aug. 31 deadline looming, the Comal Independent School District is considering a proposed $115 million budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The biggest challenges for Comal ISD budget writers: keeping teacher pay scales competitive and facilitating rapidly growing enrollment without exerting too much burden on taxpayers.
The result: a proposed budget that reflects a nearly 12-percent increase from last years $102 million budget.
The bulk of the $12.3 million in new expenses can be directly attributed to payroll, which comprises 77 percent of the budget ($89 million).
According to the proposed budget, Comal ISD expects to spend about $8.9 million more than it did in the previous year to pay teachers and staff, an 18.4 percent spike from 2006-07.
Of that $8.9 million, the budget allocates approximately $4.2 million for pay raises and increased health care benefits for Comal ISD employees. The district is set to pay $330 each month toward an employees insurance premium, up from $275 per month in 2006-07. The total cost: $1.3 million
All support personnel are receiving a 6 percent pay increase and exempt employees — administrators and professionals — are receiving a 4 percent pay increase.
The school board voted in April to approve a $2,750 pay raise for teachers, nurses, librarians and counselors. Combined with a $425 pay raise the legislature recently mandated and teacher pay is set to increase by $3,175 next year. A first-year teacher’s salary will now be $39,650 in 2007-08, which represents a nearly 10 percent increase.
Comparatively, the $39,650 figure ranks below the average pay for a beginning teacher in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City, Fort Sam Houston and Lackland Independent School Districts. However, the same figure is also above the average pay for a new instructor in the Blanco, Marion and New Braunfels Independent School Districts and the Hays and Burnet Consolidated Independent School Districts.
Debra Smith, assistant superintendent for business services who helped draft the proposed budget, said the pay raise will help Comal ISD retain and potentially attract new teachers.
“I don’t think were struggling for teachers, but we don’t want to get in the position where we don’t stay current and then it’s hard to catch up,” Smith said. “If you don’t keep up with pay increases you could see teachers leaving to San Antonio.”
Another $4.7 million in new payroll spending is set to be allocated toward hiring additional administrators, teachers and staff to fill spots at three schools set to open in August: Canyon Lake High School and Starztville and Freiheight elementary schools.
Along with three new facilities, the Comal ISD also will have to budget appropriately for a projected 1,000 new students, a number that ranks the Comal ISD as one of the fastest growing school districts in the state, said Kari Hutchison, public information officer for the district. The influx of new students will boost the Comal ISD total enrollment to more than 15,000 students.
“We’ve been growing by anywhere from 6 to 8 percent the last few years,” Hutchison said. “We’re not the fastest in the state by any means but we’re right up there.”
The budget also includes $2.4 million for capital improvements. The projected surplus for the 2007-08 fiscal year is $5.5 million and the Comal ISD’sfund balance is estimated to be $29 million, Smith said.
The budget is based on a Maintenance and Operations tax rate of $1.04 for 2007-08 fiscal year, compared with last years $1.37. The Interest and Sinking fund remained the same — 27 cents — from last year. The drop in the tax rate, Smith said, caused state aid numbers to increase nearly 90 percent from about $15 million in 2006-07 to $28 million in 2007-08.
Comal school trustees were shown the proposed budget at Tuesday night’s meeting but no action was taken. However, it wasn’t the first time they had seen the figures. Trustees were presented with the $115 million budget at a previous workshop in April. Since then, they have received updates from Smith and are working on finalizing the budget by the end of August.
“I don’t think there will be much change from this point forward,” Smith said “We’ve got thing nailed down pretty well.”
